Monterey County has a rich and colorful history. The Monterey County Herald has been there to cover the names and places that make our county unique. With some “never seen before” images from our archives, The Herald hopes to jar your memory and to participate in this ongoing look back on the history of Monterey County.

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Friday, December 21, 2012

A mass service at the Carmel Mission for the Knights of Columbus on August 30, 1959. The Monterey Council #1465 of The Knights of Columbus was formed on February 6, 1910 and is among the oldest councils in California. Its members come from all walks of life, ages, ethnicities, political affiliations and professions, but all are practicing Catholic men of strong moral character. Members are parishioners of San Carlos Cathedral in Monterey, St. Angela Merici Church in Pacific Grove, St. Thomas Aquinas Chapel at the Naval Post Graduate School in Monterey and other local Catholic parishes of the Monterey Diocese. (Monterey County Herald archives)

Friday, December 7, 2012

Looking back on the Crosby Pro-Am. Arnold Palmer moving some rocks to improve his shot during the 1965 tournament. Clint Eastwood photographed in 1971 with an umbrella for a ad campaign on Crosby weather. And Jack Nicklaus teeing off on the famous seventh hole at Pebble Beach during the 1968 tournament.

Chairman Samuel F. B. Morse of Del Monte Properties Co. gets ready to drive the first ball off the first tee at Spyglass Golf Course on March 11, 1966 as the new layout at Pebble Beach was opened for play. Watching are A.G. Michaud, president of the company, and Robert Trent Jones, right, who designed the spectacular course. (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Thursday, November 29, 2012

The "Monterey Christmas Angles" get installed on November 17, 1958 at West Pearl and Alvarado St. in Monterey. The angels have been decorating the Monterey streets since 1956 and were designed and made by artist Erica Franke. (Monterey Herald Archives)

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

A youthful, but well-trained crew, fires another round in the 21-gun salute, a noisy highlight of the law day ceremonies on April 30, 1964 at Colton Hall. Gunners are, from left in matching shirts Mark, David and Phillip Hughes, and Greg Niebel, all of Monterey. (Monterey County Herald archives)

Chris Smith, David Phillips, Mark Smith and Jeff Phillips play on the Monterey Peninsula College football field while their fathers were busy coaching the MPC team on Sept. 9, 1965. (Monterey County Herald archives)

Friday, October 26, 2012

A spectacular fire followed a collision of two autos at the intersection of 6th and Junipero avenues in Carmel on January 23, 1964. Cars were driven by Joseph Michalski of Salinas and Mary Jeanne Trosky of Carmel. The crash ruptured the gas tank of the Trosky car. The fire came when a warning flare was lighted to alert traffic. Firemen extinguished the blaze with only moderate damage to each car. Mrs. Trosky was able to leap to safety from the car carrying her 18-month-old son Jamie. (Monterey County Herald archives)

Friday, October 19, 2012

Monterey Planning Director Richard M. Garrod (left) and A.G. Michaud, vice president of the Draper Companies, inspect a model of a building on July 17, 1964 that will occupy a spot in the Del Monte shopping center's "fashion cluster." They stand on almost the exact spot the structure will occupy on the center site, east of Highway 1 near Soledad Drive. (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Thursday, October 18, 2012

Twins Pam and Pat Ostrom try on a couple of paper hats made from book jackets which were worn by children at the Monterey Public Library's party on August 28, 1959 for members of the summer reading group. The 90 youngsters at the party, who did a prodigious amount of reading over the summer, enjoyed games, stories, a movie, ice cream and balloons. (Monterey County Herald archives)

Friday, October 5, 2012

Steam rises during sugar production at the main factory of the Spreckels Sugar Company on April 20, 1977. The main factory operated for 95 years before being demolished 1992 after suffering major damage from the Loma Prieta earthquake in 1989. (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Members of the 84th engineer battalion from Fort Ord, pose with Southern Pacific's "old 1285" engine as they prepare to move it to Dennis the Menace Park in Monterey on Wednesday, January 25, 1956. (Photo: Monterey County Herald Archives)

Thursday, July 19, 2012

Two young boys (foreground) on Schwinn stingray bikes watch as hundreds of people march from Custom House Plaza in Monterey to the fence line of the Presidio of Monterey protesting America’s involvement in the Vietnam War in March of 1972. (Monterey County Herald archives)

Friday, July 13, 2012

Pierre Salinger in Monterey in 1964. Following his service in the Kennedy and Johnson
administrations, Salinger returned to California and ran for the Senate. He
defeated then California State Controller Alan Cranston in a contentious
Democratic Primary. Governor of California Pat Brown, who had supported
Cranston in the Primary, appointed Salinger a Democratic United States Senator
to fill the vacancy resulting from the July 30, 1964 death of retiring Senator
Clair Engle; he took office on August 4, 1964. In his bid for a full six-year
term in the 1964 election, he was defeated by former actor George Murphy
following a campaign in which Salinger's only recent return to his native state
became an issue, his legal residency even being challenged in court.

Saturday, July 7, 2012

Richard Pollnac (left) a U.S. Army enlisted soldier based at Fort Ord looks over some of the fossils he found at Fort Hunter Liggett in May 1964 with Monterey Peninsula College geologist Milton Bristow. The bones of a pre-historic whale were estimated to be over 30 million years old. The species of whale was named "pollnac cetacean. (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Sunday, June 17, 2012

The Who guitarist Pete Townshend smashes
his guitar at the end of their performance of "My Generation", the
audience were stunned as Townshend began smashing his guitar, amid smoke bombs
and frightened concert staff rushing onstage to scurry expensive microphones to
safety. The Who, after winning a coin toss, performed before Jimi Hendrix, as
Townshend and Hendrix each refused to go on after the other - both having
planned an instrument-demolishing conclusion to their respective sets.(Monterey County Herald Archives)

Thursday, June 7, 2012

John Steinbeck on location near Cypress Point in Pebble Beach for the filming "Flight" in 1960. The movie "Flight" was based on one of Steinbeck's short stories and had a cast of Efraim Ramirez, Esther Cortez, Maria Gonzales, Andrew Cortez. (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Friday, June 1, 2012

Tom Watson is jubilant after sinking a birdie two on the 17th hole at Pebble Beach to take the lead over Jack Nicklaus in the final round of the U.S. Open Championship on Sunday, June 20, 1982. The birdie put Watson five under with a one stroke lead and one hole to play. (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Tuesday, May 1, 2012

Joan Baez (center) leads a "million dollars worth of talent" in "You Aint Going Nowhere" on stage at the Monterey Fairgrounds on October 3, 1970 during the Joan Baez Big Sur Folk Festival. At right are members of the Beach Boys, Mike Love, Al Jardine, Carl Wilson and Bruce Johnston. At left are Country Joe McDonald and John Phillips. To Baez' left is singer Merry Clayton. (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Thursday, April 19, 2012

Long lines wrap around the Grove Theater in Pacific Grove on Lighthouse Avenue for the opening of “The Farmer Takes a Wife” starring Betty Grable and Dale Robertson in July of 1953.(Monterey County Herald Archives)

Friday, March 16, 2012

Ansel Adams and Gaylord Nelson in Carmel Highlands on September 19, 1981. Nelson was a politician from Wisconsin who served as a United States Senator and governor. A Democrat, he was the principal founder of Earth Day. This was Adams and Nelson first visit together. (Monterey County Herald Archives)

Friday, January 20, 2012

Etta James on the main stage at the 1990 Monterey Jazz Festival. Born Jamesetta Hawkins in 1938, the singer who was nicknamed Miss Peaches crossed genres, from blues and rhythm and blues to rock and roll, soul, gospel and jazz. James's singnature song, "At Last," was released in 1961, but is still a romantic favorite. James died on Friday, January 20, she was 73. (Monterey County Herald)

Friday, January 6, 2012

Looking south on the Highway One construction in 1959 over Carmel Hill from the present day Soledad Drive and Munras Road area. During the highway construction residents of the Monterey Peninsula were outraged over the excessive tree removal to make way for the roadway. It was estimated that twice as many trees were removed than the original plans had called for. (Monterey County Herald Archives)